Vending-machine



W. G. TEMPLETON.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, 1917.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920,

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W. G. TEMPLETON.

' VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, I917. 1,3%8,763 Pat nted. Aug. 3,1920.

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gjfimmunu III W. G. TEMPLETON.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. 1917.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oFF lcE.

VENDING-MACHINE.

L348, 7.63. Specification of Application filed June 1,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM G. TEMPLE- TON a citizen of the United States, residin at olorado Springs, in the count of l Paso and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of the present invention is the provision of an exceedingly simple and compact machine, which will permit the purchaser operating the machine first to make a selection of the article he desires from a number of different articles contained in separate compartmentsin the machine, and second to effect the delivery of the article selected by the deposit in the machine of a coin of proper denomination.

A vending machine constructed in accordance with the present improvements embodies a suitable fixed casing provided with a single delivery chute through which all articles delivered upon the deposit of a coin are discharged from the machine. Mounted on a horizontal axis within the casing is a single ejector, adapted upon operation to eject or advance into the delivery chute any one of a variety of articles contained within the machine, there being provision whereby the ejector is normally locked against movement and the deposit of a coin of proper denomination in the machine releases the ejector and permits operation. of the same. The several articles of different varieties for sale by the machine are arranged in stacks within vertically extending compartments disposedabout the periphery of a drum mounted above and rotatable on a vertical axis with respect to the fixed casing. The lowermost article of each stack of articles is so positioned within its compartment that rotation of the drum on its axis may cause any one of the lowermost articles of the several stacks to be shifted into the path of the ejector and in registry with the delivery chute. Rotation of the drum is preferably efiected manually in order that the purchaser may select'the article he desires from the variety of articles carried by the drum, and the selection of the article desired may be'made before the coin is deposited and is accomplished by the purchaser rotating the drum to po.- ition the Iietters Patent. Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

1917. Serial No. 172,259.

lowermost article of the desired variety in the path of the ejector and in registry with the delivery chute.

With the above and other objects in view,

the invention consists in certain construction, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described in a preferred form and particularl pointed out in the claims'at the end of the specification.

In the drawings Figure l is a front elevation of a vending machine constructed in accordance with the present improvements.

- Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a medial vertical sectional elevation on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4c is a vertical sectional elevation of the lower portion of the machine taken on the line Jr-4: of Fig. 3 and looking toward the rear of the machine as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fi 6 is a section taken in a plane indicate by the line 6-6 of Fig. 8.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are vertical sections through the fixed casing, showing the ejecting mechanism in different positions; Fig. 7 shows the parts of the ejecting mechanism in normal locked position; Fig. 8 shows the parts in the positions they assume after a coin has been deposited in the machine but before the o erating lever has been operated; Fig. 9 s owe the parts in the positions they assume when the operating lever has been shifted to ejecting position.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 4, showing in deq tail the register and connections for operatin the same.

ig. 11 is a fragmentary detail vertical section taken in a planeindicated by the .line 1111 of Fig. 3.

Like characters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

The-machine adapted for illustrating the present improvements is one constructed especially for the vending of small articles H contained in packages, for example, packages of chewing gum, which may be readily I stacked in the several compartments of the reservoir or drum, as will hereinafter more the several compartments may contain different kinds of chewing gum, or some may contain chewing gum and others different confections or other articles sold by vending machines.

As shown in the drawings, said. machine embodies in its construction a fixed casing constructed in any suitable manner and composed of side walls 2, front and rear walls 3- and 1 respectively, and the top and bottom, respectively, indicated by the reference characters 5 and 6. The top 5 of the fixed casing is cut away to provide a substantially circular opening 7, preferably concentric with the centers of the top and bottom of the fixed casing. The material forming the top of the casing may be flanged downwardly at the rim of the opening 7, as shown at 8. Supported centrally upon the bottom 6 and extending upwardly through 'opening 7 with its axis passing through the center of the latter, is a fixed vertical supporting rod 9, which projects some distance beyond the top 5 of the fixed casing. The lower end of the rod 9 is surrounded by a fixed sleeve 10 and the upper end of said sleeve supports a horizontal plate or table 11 located in a plane somewhat beneath the plane of the top 5. If desired the table 11 may be rendered furthersecure by providing it with vertical flanges 12 which rest against the inner faces of the vertical side walls 2 of the casing and may be fastened.

thereto by any suitable retaining means. Surrounding the fixed rod 9 above the table 11 is a fixed collar 13.

The rod 9 constitutes a vertical axis on which is rotatably mounted the article reservoir or drum 14, the collar 13 serving as a stop for limiting the downward axial movement of said drum on the rod 9. Said drum 14 is a substantially hollow member having top and bottom horizontal plates 15 land 16 for closing the opposite ends thereof, said plates 15 and 16 being both provided with holes adapted to receive the vertical rod 9 when theJdrum is mounted in positlon on the fixed casing, as shown 1n Fig. 3.

The vertical wall of the drum is. in the presentinstance, formed of a plurality of wall sections or members 17, each having a plane face 18 constituting a portion of the vertical wall of the drum and flanges 19 projecting forwardly from the opposite vertical edges 20 of said plane face 18, and disposed at right angles thereto, see Fig. 2, whereby each member 17 forms a compartment, the

to each other. When in position, the plane' faces 18 of the sections form chords of a circle, the center of which lies in the central axis of the drum and the circumference of which intersects or substantially intersects the edges 20 of the wall sections. In the present embodiment, the top and bottom plates 15 and 16 of the drum are regular hexagon in contour and the wall sections are respectively secured to the sides of said plates forming a drum having a vertical wall which. is substantially a regular hexagon in cross section. Each wall section 17 constitutes a compartment in which a supply of articles to be vende'd is stored, and the face 18 and flanges 19 thereof are respectively made sufliciently wide and deep to receive the articles, which are arranged one upon the other in a vertical stack between the flanges or. lateral walls 19. The rotary drum 14 is thus provided with a plurality of compartments arranged about its periphery and each adapted for the support of a stack of articles to be delivered, upon operation of the machine. In the present instance the compartments of the drum are six in number, but the number of compartments may obviously be varied as practice or the variety of articles to be vended demands.

As shown in Fig. 2, the flanges 19 of each section 17 are forgned at their forward vertical edges with flanged portions 21 bent toward each other. The flanged portions 21 of adjacent wall sections receive the opposite inwardly flanged portions 22 of verti- I cally extending strips 23 which conne:t the outer vertical edges of the several wall sec tions 17 together. The flanged portions 22 of the connecting strips 23 are further provided with vertically extending grooves. 24 which are located behind the flanges 21 of the wall sections when' the strips 22 are connected therewith. The grooves 24 are adapted to receive the outer inclosing walls 25 of the compartments which may be slid into position between the lateral walls 19 thereof. Preferably said walls 25 are made of glass or some other transparent material whereby a view of the articles in the several compartments will be afforded the purchaser operating the machine, enabling him to make a selection of an article in any one of the the, annular horizontal portion 27 of an.

exterior-ring 26. Said ring is'further "provided with a plurality of vertical flat extensions or plates 28, which correspond in number to the wall sections 17 and are slid into and suitably secured in the grooves 24 formed in the lateral walls 19 of the wall sections, in order to keep the ring 26 in position on the drum. When the parts are in position, the upper horizontal edges of the extensions 28 are engagedby lower horizontal edges of the front walls or glass panels 25, as shownin Fig. 3. Projecting at suitable intervals from the ring 26 are knobs 29 adapted to be grasped by the hand in rotating the drum 14 on its vertical axis 9. The ring 26 is located and rotates with the drum 14 in a plane slightly aboye the plane of the top 5 of the fixed casing, when the drum is properly in position on its axis.

As shown in Figs- 3' and 4 the several wall,-sections l7 constituting the vertical wall of the drum 14 and the article storage compartments extends beneath the ring 26 and bottom 16 of the drum and project through the circular opening 7 into the fixed casing. At its lower end each compartment is provided with a seat on which the lowermost article of the stack of articles is supported, said seat being formed conveniently by a forwardly-prbjecting horizontal flange 30 integral with the portion 18 of the wall section. The lateral walls 19 of'the several compartmehts extend downwardly to the seats 30 (see Fig. 4) whereby longitudinal displacement of the lowermost articles of the stacks of articles contained within the compartments is prevented. Intersecting the seat 30 and the lower end of the wall 18 of each compartment is an ejector guideway, which maybe conveniently formed by a lateral slot 31 cut through the flange or the seat 30 and the lower end of the wall 18. The ejector guideway permits the passage of an ejector through the wall 18 and into engagement with the lowermost articleof the stack in a compartment, when said compartment has previously been shifted by movement of the drum 14 on its axis to position the lowermost articles contained in that compartment in positionto be ejected from the machine. Beneath the ring 26, the front of each compartment is open to permlt ejection of the article by the ejector, as will hereinafter appear.

The portions 32 of metal cut from the walls 18 of the several compartments or wall sections 17 in forming the ejector guideways, are conveniently bent backward (see Fig. 3) and rigidly secured to the hottom plate 16 of the drum, by rivets or other suitable fastening devices. This provides a simple and convenient expedient for securing the lower ends of the wall sections to by rivets, as shown. The upper ends of the several compartments are closed by a cover 34 having a depending rim 35 which embraces' the vertical wall of the drum. Said cover is further provided with a central hole for the reception of the projecting upper end of the rod 13 and may be secured in position by a locking knob 36 screwed onto the reduced threaded portion 37 of the rod 13. It is obvious that the stock within all of the compartments of the drum maybe readily replenished by unscrewing the knob 36 and lifting off the cover 35.

' As will be noted, the several compartments extend parallel with the axis of rotation of the drum, and, in accordance with of articles within the compartments into the path of an-ejector, whereby delivery of the article may be effected upon operation of the ejector. The drum or article reservoir being adjustable, by the purchaser operating the machine, toselect the article for delivery, only a single ejector and mech-' anism controlling the operation of the same is necessary, thereby greatly simplifying the construction and reducing. the cost of manufacture, while, at the same time, the machine is adaptable for as wide a variety of articles as machines employing several duplicate ejecting mechanisms. The ejector consists of a pair of spaced arms 38 rigidly secured in any suitable manner to a horizontal shaft or axis 39, which extends transversely through the front portion of the fixed easing 1 and is journaled in the side walls 2, as shown in Fig. 4- The ejector arms 38 project radially from the shaft 39 and are respectively formed at'their outer ends with rearwardly projecting extensions 40 (see Fig. 3) which are adapted toengage the next to the lowermost article of a stack ofarticles positioned in front of the ejector arms and prevent th'e'said article from falling into the lowermost position until the ejector arms have completed their forward and return strokes. During their forward of the ejectors.

.stack. After the ejector arms have returned to retracted position, the next article in the stack is permitted to fall into the lowermost position, previously occupied by the ejected article, for-ejection on a renewed operation The table 11 is cut away, as shown at 41, to permit passage of the ejector, as well as the flange 8 of the casing top, as shown at 42, the latter cut-away portion permitting passage of the article into the delivery chute.

Rotation'of the shaft 39 to effect a forward stroke of the ejector arms 38 is controlled by means of a coin controlled mechanism, 71. 6., a mechanism which is normally locked against operation but is released for' operation upon the deposit of a coin of suitable denomination in the machine. After the coin-controlled mechanism has been once operated, it again locks automatically until another coin is deposited. The coin-controlled mechanism for effecting rotation of the shaft 39 is best seen in Figs. 7 8 and 9.' As shown, the shaft 39 is provided with an operating lever43 fixed to said shaft and projecting forwardly therefrom throu h a slot 44 in the front wall 3 of the fixe casing. The portion of the lever outside thecasing is preferably formed into a hook 45, as shown, whereby the same may be easily grasped by a finger, when mani ulating the lever. The lever 43 may also e provided with a plate 46 mounted thereon and positioned just behind the slot 44in the casing wall, said plate serving to close the slot in all positions of the lever and thereby prevent insertion of an instrument by a person attempting to tamper with the interior parts of the machine. A spring 47 secured at one end to the top of the fixed casing and at the other end to the lever 43 serves to maintain I the lever normally in elevated position and to return the same to such position, after the lever has been depressed for the purpose of imparting a forward stroke to the ejector arms 38. Also secured to the-shaft 39 is an arm 48 and pivoted on the outer end of said arm 48 is a locking bar 49 adapted to move forwardly .when the shaft 39 isrotated in that direction, the table 11 being cut away to permit such movementof the locking bar i 49. The front end of the locking bar 49 is provided with a weight 50 and the rear end thereof with a hook or catch 51 coiiperable With'a fixed stop 52 depending from the table 11. Normally the weight 50 elevates the rear end of the locking bar so as to project thehook 51 into the path of the fixed stop '52, thereby locking the lever 49, the shaft 39 and ejectors 38 against movement, as shown in Fig. 7.

The deposit of a coin of proper diameter a and weight in the machine will, however, de-

press the rear end of the locking bar and move the hook 51 away from the fixed stop ally from the coindeposit chute.

52, permitting an operation of the ejector arms 38, by depression of the lever 43. For this purpose, the rear end of the locking bar is formed with a depending extension 53 having a ledge 54 on which rests a coin of proper size deposited in the'machinel The. coin is deposited in a slot 55 formed in the top of the fixed casing and passes down an inclined coin-deposit chute 56. At its inner end, the coin-deposit chuteis provided with an exit 57, through which a coin of proper weight may fall into the ledge 54 of the looking bar and by its weight depress the rear end of said'bar, thereby moving the hook 51 away from the fixed stop 52, as shown in Fig. 8. The movement of the coin in the chute is arrested by the lateral wall 58, which, however, is providedwith a slot 59 dimensioned to permit the passage of all deposited coins less in size and weight than a coin required to depress the rear end of the looking bar. Such coins will not move the ledge 54 away from the exit 57 butwill roll along the ledge and through the slot 59, over an ward end of the chute 61 communicates with Y a slot 62 formed in the front wall of the fixed casing, and coins finding their 'way into the chute 61 will pass through the slot 62, whereby they may be picked' lp by the person to whom they belong.

In order to prevent a. renewed operation of the shaft and ejectors after the lever 43 has been depressed and before the spring has returned the bar to locking position, a stop 63 is formed in a plate 64 projecting later- Said stop is adapted to engage the hook 51 of the locking bar and prevent movement of the shaft to accomplish an ejecting operation, if such be attempted. During forward movement of the locking bar 49, after the deposit of a proper coin, the weight of the coin on the no ledge 54 keeps the hook 51 out of,the path of the stop 63. Further forward progression of said bar, as the lever 43 is being depressed moves the ledge 54 from beneath the coin and the latter falls to the bottom of the fixed casing, as shown in Fig. 9. Therefore, if '-a renewed operation be attempted, without first depositing a coin, the weight 50 will elevate the rear end of the locking bar and project the hook 51 into the path of the stop 63. When the lever 43 has been depressed, release of the same will permit the spring 47 to return the parts to normal osition with the hook 51 retained by the weight 50 in position behind the stop 52. 2,5 From-the foregoing, it will be evident, that, upon thedeposit of a proper coin, and depression of the lever 43 a forward ejecting stroke is imparted to the ejector arms 38 and such movement of the latter serves chute.

rectly in front of a compartment the lowern-ost article of which is in ejecting position and one Wall of said chute is formed by an.

inclined portion 65 of the front casing wall, said inclined portion merging into a hOIlzontal wall 66 having slots 67 which receive the ejector arms 38. The other wall of the chute is formed by a hood 67 mounted in front of the fixed casing and having a discharge opening 68 through which an ejected article ma fall onto a table 69 pro ectmg from the front of the fixed casing whereby said article may be picked up by the person to whom it belongs.

The article reservoir or drum 14 may be adjusted manually to position any. one of the article storage compartments so that the lowermost article of a stack is in the path of the ejector arms, said operation being accomplished by grasping one of the knobs 29 on the outside of the drum and turning the same on its axis until the article of a selected stack of articles is in ejecting position. For insuring movement of the drum the re uired distance to positionan article proper y for subsequent ejection, means is provided whereby the rotary movement of the drum' is arrested when the compartment containing the selected article has been shifted so that the article lies in the path of the ejectors and in position to be advanced in the chute. Secured to the bottom plate 16 of the drum is an arm 70 providedat its free end with a dependin bearing 71 in which is journaled a roller (2 (.see Figs. 3 and 11). A spring 73 interposed between the bottom plate 16 and the bearing 71 pushes the roller into contact with the upper face of the table 11. Formed in the table 11 are slots 74 corresponding in number to the numberof compartments arranged about the periphery of the drum. Said slots 74 are arranged in an annular series on the table (see Fi adapted to receive the roller 72 as the drum is rotated on its axis. ,The spring 73 advances the roller 72 into the slots with which said roller registers and the slots are so ositioned on the table 11 that, when the rol er 72 is retained in an one of them, a ,compartment is positione with its lowermost article in the path of the ejector arms 38.

In order to prevent an idle stroke of the ejector arms, when the supply of articles in any of the compartments is exhausted, a weight 75 is inserted in each compartment above the uppermost article of the stack. Said weight descends as the stack of articles is depleted, and when the last article of. a

5) and are made 'high enough so that it cannot be pushed out of the compartment, when an operation of the ejector arms is attempted and thus the weight acts as a stop preventpilg forward movement of the arms 38. hen this contingency arises, the purchaser may select another article from a different compartment by. a rotary adjustment of the drum.

Provision ismade for operating a register each time an article is delivered. For this purpose, the shaft 39 is provided with a register operatin arm 7 6 adapted on forward movement 0 the shaft to engage the arm 77 ofthe register 78 and cause the latter to shift so, as to add one unit to the amount indicated by the register (see Fig. 10). The register arm 77 wil lbe returned by a sprin 78 onreturn movement of the shaft 39 a ter an article has been delivered to the depositor of a coin. The register may be of any preferred type and is preferably mounted on the lefthand side of the machine .With the sight opening of the register .located beneath an openlng 80 in the top of the fixed casing, whereby the number of articles amount deposited may be readily observed.

What is claimed is 1. The combination of an ejector,,means for imparting an operating stroke to the ejector, a horizontal table, a drum mounted for rotation on a vertical axis with respect to said table and provided with a plurality of vertical compartments, each adapted to support a stack of articles to be ejected with the lowermost article of each stack positioned to be shifted into the ath of the ejector upon rotary movement 0 the drum into different positions on its axis, a plurality ofmovement arresting devices on the tableeach cooperating to determine a properly ad'usted position of the drum for article elivery, a resilient depending arm mounted on the drum with its lower end adjacent the table, a spring interposed between the bottom of the drum and the arm,

and a roller carried on the lower end of the arm adapted to register with one of said arrestin devices when the drum is rotated to an a justed position.

- ejector, a horizontal table, a drum mounted for rotation on a vertical. axis With respect to said table and provided with a plurality of vertical compartments, each adapted to support a stack of articles to be ejected with the lowermost article of each stack positioned to be shifted intothe delivered and thepath of he e ector upon rotary movement 0 the s each slot cotiperating to determine a properly adjusted position of the drum for article delivery, a depending arm mounted 0n the bototm-cf'the drum with its lower end adjacent the table, aspringiinterposed between the drum and lower end of the arm, and a roller journaled in said arm and adapted to move successively into said slots '10 upon rotation of the drum into successive positions of adjustment for article delivery.

WILLIAM G. TEMPLETON. 

